Friendly fire

Friendly fire (fratricide or non-hostile fire) is a term originally adopted by the United States military in reference to an attack on friendly forces by other friendly forces, which may be deliberate (e.g. incorrectly identifying the target as the enemy), or accidental (e.g. missing the enemy and hitting "friendlies"). Friendly fire is contrasted with fire originating from enemy forces ("enemy fire"). In a friendly fire incident personnel may be killed, or material assets may be damaged or destroyed. Friendly fire is one kind of collateral damage.

The British military refers to these incidents as blue on blue, which derives from wargaming exercises where friendly forces are "blue" and enemy forces are "red".

Fratricide versus Friendly Fire

Some prefer the term fratricide over friendly fire, because they deem the latter to be an unfitting euphemism exemplified by the aphorism "there's nothing friendly about getting shot by your own side." However, the origin and purpose of the term is as a simple distinction to enemy fire. Both terms serve only to identify the source of an attack as coming from enemy (hostile) or friendly forces and not the nature of an attack.

The term amicicide (killing of a friend) has also been used in the same manner as fratricide (Shrader 1982).

Classification

Friendly fire incidents fall roughly into two categories. The first classification is Fog of war which generically describes friendly fire incidents in unintentional circumstances. The second classification is murder where friendly fire incidents are premeditated.

Fog of war incidents fall roughly into two classes:

the first is due to errors of position, where fire aimed at enemy forces accidentally ends up hitting one's own. Such incidents were relatively common during the first and second World Wars, where troops fought in proximity to each other and targeting was relatively inaccurate. As weapons have become more accurate in recent times, this class of incidents has become less common.

the second class is due to errors of identification, where friendly troops are mistakenly attacked in the belief that they are enemy. Highly mobile battles, and battles involving troops from many nations are more likely to cause this kind of incident.

Friendly fire in the U.S. military

The Pentagon estimates of U.S. friendly fire deaths, with percentage of total US deaths:

World War II: 21,000 (16%)
- second-highest-ranking U.S. loss of the war, General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.
- Sinking of the Surcouf by US planes
- Sinking of the USS Dorado (SS-248) by US plane
- Damage to the USS Atlanta (CL-51) by USS San Francisco
Vietnam war: 8,000 (14%)
Gulf War: 35 (23%)
Invasion of Afghanistan (2002): 4 (13%) *note* fatalities were Canadian Soldiers, not American. Caused when a US fighter pilot dropped a 500 lb (228 kg) bomb while Canadian soldiers were performing a live fire exercise on April 17, 2002 ^*

History

Two French regiments accidentally attacking each other during the Battle of Fleurus led to the habit of attaching a white scarf to the flags of the regiments from 1690 - white being the colour of the kings of France.

Incidents and persons

1863 - Stonewall Jackson, famous Confederate Civil War general accidentally killed by his own troops at Chancellorsville.
1940 - Italian Air Marshal Italo Balbo shot down by his own side.
1940 - Operation Wikinger: two German destroyers sunk by Luftwaffe bombs
1941 - Fleet Air Arm torpedo attack on HMS Sheffield during the hunt for the Bismarck
1967 - USS Liberty Incident when Israeli aircraft accidentally attacked U.S. Navy ship in international waters during the Six-Day War (between Israel and Egypt).
1974 - Kocatepe (D-354) was sunk by Turkish aircraft during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
1991 - American A-10 in the Gulf War attacks British APCs killing nine British soldiers (the same number as were killed by enemy fire in the whole war).
1994 - Erik Mounsey, peacekeeper and cousin of legendary guitarist Ian Bairnson memorialized in the 1996 Alan Parsons release On Air.
2002 - American F-16 pilot Harry Schmidt killed four Canadian soldiers in an Afghanistan friendly fire incident.
2003 - American aircraft attacks a friendly Kurdish & US special forces convoy killing 15. BBC translator Kamaran Abdurazaq Muhamed is killed and BBC reporter Tom Giles and World Affairs Editor John Simpson are injured. the incident is filmed. ^*
2003 - American Patriot missile shot down a British Panavia Tornado GR.4A ZG710 'D' of 13 Squadron killing the pilot and navigator, both from 9 Squadron
2003 - American Patriot missile shot down in error F/A-18C Block 46 Hornet 164974 of VFA-195 50 mi from Karbala, Iraq, killing the pilot.
2003 - Christopher Finney, British soldier awarded the George Cross for bravery under friendly fire from a pair of American A-10 during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
2004 - Pat Tillman, famous American football player and friendly fire victim in Afghanistan
2005 - American soldier Mario Lozano kills Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari and wound Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena. Sgrena had been kidnapped and subsequently rescued by Calipari. However it is claimed the car they were escaping in failed to stopped at an American checkpoint and US soldiers opened fire.
2005 - American troops opened fire on a Bulgarian convoy. Junior Sergeant Gardi Gardev is killed.

Cultural Views

Many, especially those in Britain, hold the view that the US has a severe record of friendly fire. The popular opinion is that the US is more likely to injure its own or its unfortunate allies, the British, than anyone of an opposing army. However, a more accurate view is that the United States, as a world superpower, is simply more likely to have "friendly fire" events because the US is much more likely to be involved in combat operations. Whether it was the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, the War in Kosovo and the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the US has provided the overwhelming majority of combat forces. By sheer numbers, the odds are that the US will have more casualties, regardless of whether they are from enemy or friendly fire.

Furthermore, since the Allied forces usually completely annihilate their opposition, little is known about "friendly fire" incidents for non-allied opposition forces. The Allied forces, especially the British and Americans, are able to attain good situational awareness on the modern battlefield and when an unfortunate "friendly fire" incident occurs, the events are much more likely to be investigated, analyzed and ejudicated to learn exactly what happened, and if possible, why.

References

Shrader, Charles R. Amicicide: the problem of friendly fire in modern war, University Press of the Pacific, 2005. ISBN 1410219917

External links

Friendly Fire Notebook, List of U.S. friendly fire incidents

Military terminology

Friendly Fire | Fuoco amico | Eigen vuur

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